Ryan Lochte has been cleared of the false report charge after an incident at Rio Olympics last August. After almost a year later, the case against the 12-time Olympic medalist was officially dismissed on Friday, July 14, according to the ruling by an appellate court in Brazil. The United States swimmer had been accused of concocting a story about getting robbed at gunpoint at the Olympics. Lochte's false report involved some of his teammates and caused an international scandal.

The scandal

If Lochte's case had not been dismissed and he had been found guilty, he could have been sentenced up to six months or longer in a Brazilian jail.

The court concluded that while it was immature behavior, Lochte did not break any Brazilian laws. Two of the three judges overseeing the case ruled on dropping it because it was the Rio police and not Lochte who initiated the investigation. Therefore, what Lochte told NBC did not constitute a false report.

What Lochte lost

Before an investigation was conducted about Lochte's false reporting, the swimmer apologized. Even so, he was still ostracized and lost endorsements. He became the subject of jokes, received death threats, and his reputation was at stake. Within hours of the widely talked about scandal, Lochte lost all four of his major sponsors that included Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren Corp, Syneron Candela, and the Japanese mattress company Airweave.

The 32-year-old swimmer was suspended by USA Swimming for ten months that just ended a few days ago on July 1. That meant he could not compete in the nationals that occurred last month. Missing that particular competition made him ineligible to compete for the world championships in Budapest later this month.

The Olympian swimmer

He was eligible to compete this week at the Los Angeles Invitationals. He withdrew because of the birth of his son, Caiden Zane Lochte on June 8 whose mother is model Kayla Rae Reid. Lochte and Reid became engaged in October 2016. There will be other events he will compete in, and he will be able to represent the United States at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The Olympian swimmer is second in line behind Michael Phelps who has won 28 medals. Lochte won 12 medals including six gold, three silver, and three bronze.

The swimmer partnered with Cheryl Burke during Season 23 of "Dancing with the Stars." He admitted he went on the ABC show to help him repair his image. Fans did keep him on the show for eight weeks.